Before The Storm
by sorryimnotafictionalcharacter
Summary: <html><head></head>"They act like it's a normal day. But it isn't, really, not at all. Because this time tomorrow, it'll be the seven of them against the literal world." Or, the night before the final battle. Happy Blood of Olympus release day, everyone!</html>


**Guys, Blood of Olympus comes out tomorrow. So I kind of needed to write something before it was released, just because I'm a mess of emotions right now. Enjoy!**

They act like it's a normal day.

But it isn't, really, not at all. Because this time tomorrow, it'll be the seven of them against the literal world, and nothing will be normal, nothing will be the same.

This time tomorrow, they might all be dead.

And it's a terrifying concept, really, death. All of them have had near encounters with it before- hell, Hazel's died before- but when you suddenly realize that this may very well be your last sunset, the very last time you eat pizza or brush your teeth or go to sleep, it kind of puts things into a new perspective. Because all of those things, all of those little things that they take for granted?

This time tomorrow, they might not have any of that.

Everyone deals with it in different ways, as they all lounge around the mess hall, watching the enchanted pictures on the wall blankly. Leo's fiddling with whatever he can find- utensils, spare bits of wire, things from his tool belt. Frank's playing with his piece of firewood, wrapped up in the flameproof bag that Leo won't tell anyone how he got. Annabeth's sketching buildings, brow furrowed in concentration. Hazel's making a trail of gemstones follow her around the room, Piper's braiding tiny strands of her hair, and Jason's reading, or at least he says he is, but he's been stuck on the same page for the past half hour.

And Percy?

Well, he's just taking them all in. Looking at the little details of all his friends, memorizing their profiles and expressions and tiny little blemishes that he's never even noticed before. It's not like he has a death wish, per say, but he knows there's a chance he'll die tomorrow and he doesn't want to forget any of them, not now, not ever.

This life- this crazy, messed up, pain in the ass life he's leading- might be the best goddamn thing that's ever happened to him because of these people in front of him.

He remembers the very start of it all, him, Grover and Annabeth, scrawny little twelve year olds trying to make it to Los Angeles on time. He remembers how scared he was, how freaking terrifying it was to be on a quest with no clue what you were doing, and the looming threat of war hanging over your head.

Percy still is terrified, quite honestly. He's terrified and he's angry at the Gods for making them deal with all of this, for making them be their soldiers, dispensable and easily replaced. Because they're people too, people with lives and loved ones and a future ahead of them. And just because they were dealt the shitty hand in the card game of life doesn't mean they should have to deal with constant danger, constant death.

But such is the price that comes with being a demigod.

They could all die tomorrow. It's a very real fact, a very harsh one. Tomorrow, they could lose their best friends, their loved ones, their family. And maybe that's why Percy decides to do what he's about to do, as he suddenly tugs Annabeth to her feet and leads her out into the hallway.

She glances at him in confusion. "Percy, what's going on?"

"I love you," He blurts out, and damn, he didn't mean to just say it like that, but now that he has it feels right. "I love you and I think I've loved you since before I even knew what love was. And I know that we might not get that perfect New Rome fantasy I told you about, that we might break up along the road or lose our memory again, but right now, I love you. And I'll always love you, no matter what happens. And yeah, there's a chance that we might die tomorrow, but there's a chance we'll die pretty much every day, because that's the reality with lives like ours. And I kno-"

He's cut off as Annabeth leans forward and kisses him, long and soft, a kiss full of promise and hope and memory. "I know I've said it before, but I love you too, idiot."

Percy's pretty sure he's grinning like a maniac, but he can't bring himself to care. Because right now, in this moment, with Annabeth's arms around him and his brain a happy mess of emotions, everything feels perfect.

"You know everyone else is probably watching us from the door," He mumbles against Annabeth's lips, before kissing her again. As if to prove his point, there's suddenly a flurry of noise from inside the mess hall, including one loud crash that sounds suspiciously like one of the enchanted dishes breaking.

Annabeth simply rolls her eyes and tugs him back inside the room, where, as predicted, Piper and Frank are frantically trying to sweep up the remnants of the broken plate. They're laughing, though, all of them, and Percy feels his heart lift because this- this is why he's going to fight his absolute hardest tomorrow. So that there can be more days like this, more laughter, more time hanging out without having to worry about monster attacks. So his children won't have to go through all the shit he had to. So that all the little kids back at camp, tagging along with older siblings and watching this new world in wonder, won't have to grow up under the shadow of war.

No one feels like sleeping alone tonight, so Leo grabs all of the blankets he can find and piles them back into the mess hall, pushing the couches aside to create a giant bed for all of them. They pile under the blankets, limbs entwined and heads thrown carelessly in laps, until they're basically a big pile of demigods, unable to tell where one ends and the next begins.

And then the laughter dies down and there's silence again, because it's starting to sink in that this may very well be the last time they lie in bed next to another person, this may be the last time they ever go to sleep. The urge to talk, to tell everyone goodbye, is overwhelming, but no one dares open their mouth and break the somewhat restless peace.

It's only when Hazel lets out a hiccup-like sob that it finally hits them all like a freight train- they've run out of time to put off their farewells. It's now or never. Because, yeah, they might all live tomorrow, but they might not. That's a risk none of them are willing to take. If they need to say anything, they better say it now.

Jason goes first, looking surprisingly vulnerable with his knees tucked into his chest and a blanket pulled tight over him. "I just wanted to say that you guys are my family. And I didn't even know some of you a month ago, but you've welcomed me with relatively open arms and I'm grateful for that." There are a few small chuckles, and then Jason nudges Piper, who's lying with her head in his lap.

"I hope none of us die tomorrow," Piper lets out a shaky grin. "Or else I'll have to charmspeak you back to life. I've done it before, and I'll do it again. Just stay alive, please, because I love you all." She turns towards Leo, who has his feet thrown over hers.

Leo sits up, still fiddling with what looks like two paperclips and a fork. "Okay, so, as most of you have probably realized, I'm the only one here not in a disgustingly cute relationship. Which kinda makes me the odd man out. And that used to piss me off a lot, because I was basically the seventh wheel. But now I know you guys still care, even when I'm a little rude or sarcastic or stupid. So thanks for not tossing me to the sharks."

Hazel, who's sandwiched in between Leo and Frank, goes next. "It must be weird having a recently reincarnated girl on your ship, but you guys are a really amazing group of friends that accepted me for who I was. And that hasn't happened an awful lot, so please don't die on me now." She grins, but there are still tears glittering in the corners of her eyes as Frank takes this as his cue to speak.

"Thanks for liking me when I was awkward, pre-blessing Frank, and liking me post-blessing Frank. Thanks for being pretty cool about the fact that I once shape-shifted into an iguana. Thanks for being an amazing family, an amazing group of friends."

Annabeth smiles, speaking next. "We've been through so much together, I've gotten so close to all of you, and it's really hard to imagine everything could change in less than 24 hours. So please, let's all live for as long as we possibly can." She glances at Percy. "Okay, Seaweed Brain, finish us off."

Percy nods, staring around the room as he begins to talk. "So I guess there's a pretty high chance that we're going to die tomorrow. But for us, there's a pretty high chance we're gonna die most of the time. Just try and stay alive so that we can end this war, because Gods knows we've all done enough fighting. Try and stay alive, because like it or not, the fate of the world is in our hands."

And then, one by one, they all succumb to sleep. No one knows what tomorrow will bring, no one knows if they'll win or lose, no one knows if this will be their last night on Earth, but for now, they just sleep.

For now, they're together, and they're safe.

**Hope everyone has a great Blood of Olympus release day tomorrow! Feel free to PM me tonight- I'll be on until around 2am EDT if anyone needs to freak out and such. **

**Please review!**

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Jace ;)**

**PS: Also, feel free to message me on Tumblr to freak out- I'm sorryimnotafictionalcharacter!**


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